Various devices have been used to move airplanes on the ground without starting the aircraft engine. One known system uses a towing vehicle having a tow bar which attaches to the axle of the aircraft nose-wheel. This tow bar system may disadvantageously require a separate tow bar or tow bar adapter for each different type of nose-wheel axle assembly. Furthermore, a new tow bar or adapter is required for each new aircraft design. Matching the correct tow bar or adapter to the correct aircraft is often a time consuming process, and valuable airport storage space is required to store all the various towbars and towbar heads.
Another known aircraft tug assembly includes a self-propelled chassis having a nose-wheel scoop mounted to the front of the chassis by a 3-point hitch. A manually or hydraulically operated winch is mounted to the chassis to pull the aircraft nose-wheel onto the nose-wheel scoop. This nose-wheel scoop requires a variety of different adapters to receive the various nose-wheel configurations. For example, some aircraft have a single nose-wheel, while others have a dual nose-wheel, that is two tires mounted side by side. Thus a need exists for improved nose-wheel cradles.